The Competition
by mat528
Summary: What happens when both Steve and Danny decide to compete for Kono's affections?  An Alternate Universes story
1. Chapter 1

THE COMPETITION

CHAPTER ONE

**A/N: I haven't abandoned my other "Hawaii Five 0" fics, I just wanted to do a quick fic about the rivalry between Steve and Danny.**

**This time, it's personal, when Steve and Danno fight over Kono.**

**An Alternate Universes tale.**

The Hawaii Five 0 team had one of the rare opportunities to enjoy a slow day in the middle of the week. In fact, things were so slow, Detective Danny Williams was blowing a piece of paper in the air, his face dejected.

"Guess it's another slow day, huh?" He asked Chin. To his left, Chin Ho looked up from a puzzle he was working on on his laptop screen.

"What?" He queried.

"I _said..." _Danny started repeating; then, the blond cop told his coworker, "never mind."

Normally, Steve McGarrett would have echoed Danny's mood, but he was inwardly happy that things were at a standstill case wise. Ever since Catherine had been stationed off the coast of Aruba almost six weeks ago, Steve had wanted some companionship of a female kind. He didn't need anything too complicated relationship-wise, he decided, just someone to take his mind off of his submarine sweetheart. Someone like his totally hot coworker, Kono Kalakaua.

He turned on the HD television set that was at Five 0 headquarters and put in a tape of _CHIpS, _muttering to himself that he was Larry Wilcox to a T.

Danny snorted, having heard Steve's remark. "Daniel?" Steve asked, miffed.

"Yes, Steven?" Danny asked.

"Do I take it that you're not buying what I just said?" Steve asked his friend. His eyes were looking at Wilcox taking off at top speed on his motorcycle.

Danny came over to where Steve sat, standing in front of the television and gesturing with his hands like he sometimes did when he wanted to prove a point.

"Look, Steven, let me put it in simple terms..." the detective said, counting off his issues with his fingers. "One, I'm more like Wilcox in terms of personality. Two, I'm blond and you're a brunette like Estrada. Three, I'm in Wilcox's age group more than you are. Four, like Wilcox, I'm your partner, but I ride shotgun, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since it is the power behind the throne that is all encompassing...".

Picking up on the third point, Steve crossed his arms, retorting, "Yeah, I'm sure a real blond like Wilcox would have a real field day comparing himself to a bottle blond like you."

For emphasis, Steve took some of the hair on the back of Danny's head and tugged it to one side to show Chin that there were some brown roots.

As Danny fumed Steve went on, "And, by the way, oh mighty power, lest we forget that Wilcox is a California beach boy, which means tan, surfing in the ocean type of guy, like me, as opposed to Estrada, who you clearly are!"

Danny stopped growling and said, "What about point five, and the _most important_, eh, Stefan?"

Steve frowned, asking, "And what pray tell is that, Daniel Bartholemew?"

The blond cop glared at the Navy SEAL for the use of Danny's middle name, which he absolutely abhorred.

"_Some _women, or rather _one _woman in particular who works alongside us, is attracted to the Wilcox character, so, in point of fact, when this special woman said this, she was looking at me," Danny told Steve, pointing to his chest.

Steve shook his head, saying, "In your dreams! Kono was looking at _me!" _He stabbed his chest so hard that he winced a little.

"You mean in your nightmares, since Kono finds me more of a hot item than you," Danny insisted. His blue eyes found Chin's brown ones. The slightly older cop had been studying the pair.

_I think the ball is in your court, Steve, _his telling look seemed to be saying. Although his look didn't show it, Chin hoped that Steve and Danny wouldn't involve him in their argument.

Yeah, he reasoned sarcastically, and Steve and Danny would grow tails and become owners of the Brooklyn Bridge any day now.

Sure enough, Danny's cornflower blue eyes pleaded with Chin's as he said, "You know what? We'll let Chin settle this."

Steve agreed. "Fair enough," he said.

Danny gave Chin his full attention, the actors on the television forgotten as he questioned, "Come on, Chin, tell us who you think Kono would prefer: me, or Mr. Totally Wrong for Kono, here?" Danny pointed to Steve.

Before Steve could retort, Chin told them calmly, "Look, I'm not taking sides in a competition that's only gonna end in disaster. And, anyway, Kono is a grown woman. You want to know which of you she likes better, you go and ask her."

Danny told Steve and Chin, "Doesn't matter. I know she would like me to take her out, especially to the Governor's birthday bash comin' up tomorrow night!"

"Yeah," Steve said, "if Rod Serling were here, you'd be right, _Daniel, _but we're in the real world!"

Just then, the object of their discussion walked into Five 0 headquarters, unaware of the competition beginning between Steve and Danny.

Both guys tried to hide the dreamy expressions on their faces as Kono's slender hips swayed when she came into the room. She lifted her long fingers in a greeting and showed her dimples when she smiled.

"Hi, guys," she greeted, before turning her 'hello' on her cousin, "Cous."

"Hiiii Kono," Steve and Danny purred. Both smelled her perfume as she walked past to look at the video display terminal on the desk.

"No cases yet?" Kono asked. Steve closed the distance slightly by coming on her left. Danny took up the right. Chin shook his head at having to work with two year olds.

"Nothing yet," Steve reported. Danny nodded his head in agreement.

"So, K," Danny asked, receiving her complete attention at the shortened form of her name. "You, uh, still planning to go to the governor's little shindig tomorrow?"

Kono exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot! I didn't get her a present!"

"Well," Steve told the female rookie, "I'd be happy to help you shop for something special. She _is _the governor and our boss after all."

Kono's dark eyes showed her gratitude as she said, "Thanks, Steve, that's really very sweet."

Not wanting to be outdone by his opponent, Danny said, "I'd be happy to drive you, Kono."

"Just what we need, a chaperone," Steve said, seeming to be joking to Kono's ears but deadly serious to Danny's.

"That's great," Kono said. "My car's in the shop, anyway."

"That's _wonderful_," Steve responded, not wanting his rapidly escalating jealousy to be obvious. "We can _all_ go together to Ala Moana and find something."

Kono smiled again. "Okay," she said. She started walking toward the exit.

"I'll just get my purse," she told Steve, Danny and her cousin. "Meet you both outside?"

"Sure," Steve and Danny said simultaneously. When Kono walked out, each cop fixed the other with a deadly look.

"Get ready to be creamed, my friend," Danny promised. Steve raised a brow.

"Really?" he replied calmly. "You get ready with some tissues, Danno, 'cause when she picks me and you end up on your butt out in the cold, you'll be the one crying."

Danny left to get his car ready. Steve saw Kono running down the stairs with her purse and fell in behind her. Together, all three got into the car and the blond detective pulled out of the parking lot.

After they left, Chin took out his cell phone and placed a call to his cousin.


	2. Chapter 2

THE COMPETITION

CHAPTER TWO

**A/n: Thanks for the great reviews! So glad you like the story! **

**All's **_**not **_**fair in love and war in this chapter, as each combatant is about to discover. **

**BTW: Just mentioning that no, I don't own the Five 0 series or characters, nor do I own any publicly recognizable places in Hawaii in the story. This is very much a tale for fun that I'm writing, not a profit making venture!**

**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Donald B. He really helped me develop some "technical" issues.**

Danny stopped at the gas station before continuing on to the shopping center on Ala Moana. Making certain that the car was locked, he got out and went into the store, saying that he wanted to get his favorite drink and he wasn't sure the shopping center would carry it.

Kono told him to take his time. When the fair haired policeman went inside and saw the tiny bottle to his left where the travel sized supplies were, Danny smiled evilly. He purchased his items, paid the clerk, scribbled something hurriedly on a piece of paper he'd retrieved from his pocket and left the store to fill up the gas tank.

From his seat behind Kono on the passenger side, Steve plotted just how he'd trump Danno's ace and win the dark haired beauty. He cursed himself for not having noticed how Kono and he just…fit somehow.

Catherine was a great girl, he knew, and a good partner in bed, but Kono was a wonderful woman in so many other ways. And, since Steve was very much a here and now kind of guy when it came to relationships, he wasn't thinking about when Catherine might return. He knew that sometimes people could be stationed far away for a long, long time. Although he didn't want to necessarily dump Catherine, he also didn't want to just pursue only her. He also knew that, when they'd first gotten together, they'd agreed to have open relationships given that they were being reassigned by the Navy all the time. So, why not cultivate a romance with the very appealing, always-just-a-heartbeat-away Kono?

XXXXXXXXXXX

As Danny pumped the fuel he thought about himself and Kono. True, he was an outsider and a fish out of water in a state he still wasn't crazy about, but didn't they say that opposites attracted? Steve was, in Danny's opinion, too much like Kono. The girl liked adventure, so why shouldn't she have someone who was different; someone who matched her passion for passion and even temper for temper? Besides, Steve had Catherine, and her tour of duty wouldn't last forever. She just _had _to return to be Steve's girlfriend, right?

When Danny saw that the tank was full, he washed his windows with the windshield wiping squeegee and pulled out of the station.

XXXXXXXXX

They reached the shopping center's parking lot in record time as Kono finished her cell phone call. Before she or Steve could exit the car, Danny bounded over to her side and offered to open the door for her.

Steve tried to get out on the other side, but Danny murmured something about the lock being stuck.

"Been meaning to have that fixed," he said apologetically as Kono gathered her purse from the floor.

Steve shifted to the seat behind Kono again. He waited for Danny to open the door and clear out so that the Navy SEAL could emerge from his side of the car seconds later. The blond cop opened the passenger door, leaving her window open a little.

After Kono thanked him, Danny followed her into the center, trailing her like a little puppy. Steve got out and slammed the door…and found to his horror that he couldn't move his hand away from the door handle! Steve pulled and tugged and he tried to free his left hand from the door handle, but he was stuck tight!

_Crazy glue! _Steve thought, his face almost red with his anger.

"DANNO!" He shouted, oblivious to the stares he got from other parkers inside the lot. By that time, Danny and Kono had entered the mall and apparently hadn't heard his cry.

Not wanting to cause serious injury to his hand, the Five 0 leader forced himself to calm down and think his predicament through.

It was then that Steve saw the little piece of paper and a small tube on Kono's side of the car. Angling himself to grab it, Steve managed to reach inside. He was able to nab the paper and the tube, but just barely. Steve opened the paper and read the message, grimacing.

_Is __**he **__gonna get it when I catch up to him! _Steve thought.

_**Hello, Bright Eyes! **_The letter stated in Danny's handwriting.

_**Sorry for the Crazy Glue, but all's unfair in love and war. Lucky for you that I don't believe in harming my true friends, so there is a tube of antidote on the front seat that will unstick you. **_

Steve liberally applied the antidote to his hand and read the rest of the letter.

_**Of course, even after you free yourself, you have to find us, and discover what we'll be getting the governor. Since this mall is, what, about three floors high, I doubt you will find us…oh, well, se la guerre, and all that.**_

_**Good luck, Steven.**_

_**D**_

Steve balled up the letter, cursing Danny left and right as he headed toward the mall.

"All right, Bart," he whispered. "No more Mr. Nice Guy!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Kono and a none too happy Danny were inside the mall waiting close to the entrance to the parking lot. He had wanted to get them further away from the lot, but Kono asked him to wait for Steve.

Danny told her, "look, Kono, I'm sure Steve will catch up," Trying to be casual, he suggested, "why don't we just start shopping? We can contact him on the cell phone."

Kono gave Danny an odd look, but the detective was now facing another store having spied an item he thought he could buy for Grace in the window.

"What's your hurry?" Kono wondered. She frowned when she checked her watch.

"What's taking him so long?" She asked, concerned.

"Oh, he's probably just…stuck somewhere or something," Danny responded. "He'll join us soon, I'm sure."

Right on cue, Steve came through the door. Kono was glad nothing serious had happened to her colleague and friend.

"Is everything all right?" Kono wanted to know. "What kept you?"

Steve looked at Danny when he said his next words. "Oh, nothing," he fibbed. "Just lost my way, is all." Only the detective could see the glaciers in Steve's eyes.

Kono was puzzled as to how someone like Steve could have lost his way at a shopping center he probably knew like the back of his hand, but she didn't try to figure things out. Danny started sipping the drink he'd bought at the gas station as the trio walked. Kono mentally ruled out the stores they saw and eyed others that she thought offered possibilities for her gift.

"Just what does one buy a Governor, anyway?" She inquired.

"I dunno," Danny said. "Always sucked at buying stuff for women, even for my ex. I was much better buying stuff for Grace."

"I got a pearl necklace for a woman once," Steve put in. "It set me back a ways, but it was worth it."

Kono shook her head, saying, "Nooo…that doesn't seem like the right thing. Besides, she'll probably get some jewelry from her husband."

They went up the escalators to the third level and went towards where the mall bathrooms were. Steve walked toward them first while Danny loudly drank his soda. Telling the other two that he needed to "answer nature's call", the naval commander went toward the restroom.

Inside the bathroom, Steve saw the "out of order: lock jams" sign on one of only two stall doors. Seeing that he was alone, Steve moved the sign to the second stall, jubilant that he got the inspiration for the perfect idea for revenge on Danny. Now, if his victim would show….Steve hoped that the drink he'd seen his opponent with was just enough to make the good Daniel go to the bathroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Moments later, Danny pointed to the section with the Men's room, telling Kono, "I gotta, you know." Kono nodded while Danny tossed his now empty bottle in the waste paper basket.

"I'll wait on the benches we passed coming toward the bathrooms, okay?" She asked, not waiting for an answer. When she withdrew, Danny headed for the room.

XXXXXXXXXX

When the blond cop came inside, there was one other male who finished his tinkering. When he left Steve and Danny alone, Steve's eyes lifted heavenward, thanking whatever gods there were that his victim went in the stall and hadn't used one of the wall units.

When Steve heard Danny flush the toilet, the naval commander grinned from ear to ear and got out of Dodge fast.

XXXXXXXXXX

Danny zipped up his trousers and tried to slide the round lock back to get out of the stall, and then realized that he couldn't get out. Try as Danny might, he couldn't open the lock.

"For the love of…!" Danny muttered, running his hands through his blond hair. He grabbed the top of the stall with both hands, pulling himself up.

"Hey!" He yelled, but no one was in the bathroom. "Crap!" Danny saw that the opening leading to the other stall was big enough. He slid over to the stall on his back, telling himself "Steve's a friend, and I like him! I don't want to get even. I can rise above any dirt he flings on me."

But already he was thinking of the vengeance he'd heap on Steve's head.


	3. Chapter 3

THE COMPETITION

CHAPTER THREE

**A/N: Danny takes revenge on Steve in this chapter. For the benefit of late comers, this story occurs before season two, so Lori isn't in this story, and the big thing that happens to Jameson at the end of S1 hasn't happened yet.**

**This is a long chapter for you wonderful readers who either reviewed, or alerted. Please accept my gratitude, and a big "mahalo" from me!**

**Prop/Hawaiian Places/ Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, except my story. Any publicly recognizable plots, stores, or places in Hawaii and New Jersey are being borrowed for this story, and no infringement of any kind is intended. **

**Just so you know: Ocean City is in New Jersey; _Bubba's _is based off of Bubba Gump's, which is a seafood place based on the Forrest Gump movies. If you travel to the Garden State, the Big Island, Maui or Oahu, you might want to check those two places out! **

_Previously: But already he was thinking of the vengeance he'd heap on Steve's head._

When Danny joined Steve and Kono in front of where the restrooms were, he'd already thought of the perfect plan to get revenge on Steve. He'd also thought of the perfect way to worm himself into his fellow female officer's affections.

"I hope you both don't mind," Danny told Kono and Steve, "but I'm hungry. I didn't grab a bite before we left, and I haven't had anything to eat all day, so...".

Kono put her two cents in, telling everyone, "I could do with some food, too. How about the food court?" She started heading toward the court's entrance.

"I'd rather have something a little more filling," Steve said. "We've still got a lot of shopping ahead of us, and I want something that'll hold us longer." He started heading in the direction of Bubba's, a seafood place. Kono and Danno followed him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When Danny saw the restaurant, he was amused at the references to one of his favorite movies that decorated the place. Television sets showed scenes from the movie _Forrest Gump _regularly. Tables resembling the wooden ones a person might see in a park littered the crowded space.

The tables had signs that, if they were red, had the words, "Stop, Forrest, stop", which signaled the waiters and waitresses to stop and take an order. If the sign stated that Forrest needed to run, no one stopped but kept on going to other customers' tables.

Danny laughed, saying, "This is surreal! I wish I'd brought my camera so I could show this to Rachel and Grace! We don't have anything like this in New Jersey and I didn't get around to visiting the one in New York."

Looking around, Steve said, "Yeah, it is amazing what some people turn into popular places. The seafood is really great and so are the hush puppies."

Danny sniffed and when he smelled the familiar scent, his blue eyes lit up. Looking directly at Kono, he said with a dreamy expression, "_Hush puppies! _I _love_ a good hush puppy."

"Me, too," Kono told him, grinning. As they waited to sit at a table Steve witnessed the exchange and suddenly felt a smattering of jealousy, particularly since he wasn't a hush puppy sort of man. The fact that Danno and Kono had even that small thing in common infuriated him.

Danny kept his eyes peeled for a table, but there were none available in the crowded restaurant. He spotted a little gift shop on the far side with t shirts and other merchandise based on the movie's theme the restaurant used.

"Know what?" He asked Steve and Kono. "I'm gonna go and check out the shop for a minute."

Danny went to the store and meandered, looking at the different shirts hanging on the thin rods protruding out of the wooden walls. Steve and Kono waited for a table outside of the shop. Danny took out his smart phone, thanking providence that Chin had given him lessons on all the functions, including the mini-computer ones.

Glad that he'd seen a friend of his amongst the waiters, the blond detective selected his friend's number and dialed it. Danny was happy that he'd answered the ring right away.

"This is Jace..." a deep male voice greeted.

"Hey, Jace!" The man heard Danny's voice on the phone. "How's it going?"

The thirty six year old in a black t reading "Bubba's" on it, bounced back, "Danny...? Danny _Williams? _How long has it been?"

"Dunno," Danny returned, "Coupla months easily. What are you doing in HI, instead of bumming around Ocean City, huh?"

"Well, my own restaurant and t shirt biz fizzled out up there, so I came to Hawaii with my meager earnings to grab some sun. I'm about to make assistant manager in the restaurant," Jace said. "Where are you staying? If you're in Honolulu, you can check out my place, and we can grab a beer."

The waiter looked for Danny amongst the crowds, adding, "I'd be great to see you, man. But I got customers right now, dig?"

"Yeah, I know," Danny said, his grin evil. "We can do all the catching up later. Listen, I'm here with two of my pals, and they're over by the table-seating sign. I wanna play a little joke on my male friend, over there."

Jace looked over to the hostess' station at the taller man with the short dark hair and the tattoos on his arms. The waiter was a little intimidated; he remembered his fellow classmate's practical jokes. Danny's mischievous streak sometimes had gotten Jace in trouble when they'd been together in their old neighborhood, and he wanted no part of it.

"Uh, look, Dan," he said, apprehensive, "you know I wanna help you, but I don't think this is a great idea. He looks mean, and anyway, I could get fired for messing with customers."

Danny went to the back of the shop and said, "Look, no one has to know. Besides, man, you haven't heard it yet."

Jace was shaking his head, his voice saying, "No, I'm not buying into one of your crazy schemes. You have nothing to tempt me with this time, dude!"

"What if I told you that Kono, that's his girlfriend, is in on it, and by helping me set this up, you would be helping her?" Danny asked.

Jace Clay looked at the beautiful Hawaiian babe standing next to the tall man and sighed. _She_ wasthe type of girl he liked; a sunset and beach walking kind of woman and he didn't want to disappoint her.

"What do I have to do?" His hesitant voice asked over Danny's phone. Danny outlined his plan.

XXXXXXXXX

Moments later, the blond detective heard Jace's voice say. "You owe me a big one! Aloha, dude." The cop hung up and headed toward Kono and Steve.

"Didn't find anything?" Kono wanted to know. Danny shook his head. Just then, the trio saw Jace coming toward them.

"Aloha," he greeted. "Welcome to Bubba's. Sorry to keep you all waiting but you know how crowded it gets at this time. Come this way...". Jace told them, gesturing to a table in the far corner. Steve, Danny and Kono walked there and sat.

As the assistant manager ran through the specials, Danny said, "How's the 'Bucket of Trash' I see?" He looked to Kono and Steve for confirmation, adding, "Is it good?"

Kono smiled and nodded her approval. Steve told Jace, who'd taken their drink orders, "Mahalo."

When Jace left. Danny told his friends, as he glanced at the menu, "Lots of choices. I can't make up my mind."

Looking at Kono, Steve said, "What about you, Kono? What'll you have?" (The last word he'd uttered was tinged with a hint of innuendo.) Her brown eyes scanning the menu, she missed the predatory gleam that had crept into his gaze.

Danny didn't, however, and, now inwardly fueled with a healthy dose of jealousy, hementally promised, _We'll see who has the last laugh my friend!_

Kono looked up at her companions and said, "I don't know what I want. I guess what Danny suggested sounded okay."

When Jace returned, Steve ordered the hush puppies and a Bucket of Trash with all the seafood they could eat.

"Hope you don't mind me ordering for us," he said to Kono.

"That's very nice of you," Kono replied, sending a fabulous grin in Steve's direction. The Naval commander noticed how white and even her teeth were. Catherine's were okay, he remembered, but she had some that were misaligned, whereas Kono's were straight and even.

Danny caught the grin and hid a mischievous smile of his own. He couldn't wait to pay Steve back for the bathroom gag with an even better one!

XXXXXXXXXXX

Presently the food arrived and the trio gorged themselves on the huge portion of fish and 'puppies. After they ate, Kono rubbed her stomach, commenting, "Now I remember why I don't stop at Bubba's very often. I always end up overeating and then I pay for it later!"

"Yeah," Danny chimed in, loosening his belt a notch, "we went through that trash bucket thing like a couple o' pigs!"

"Well, pigging out is what Bubba's is famous for," Steve said, letting out a breath of air and settling in his seat. "I don't think I'll be able to move for at least a day!"

After all three friends talked for awhile, Jace brought the check to Steve, who looked it over. From his pocket, the waiter withdrew a pen, saying, "Hope everything was great."

"It was," Steve pronounced, taking out his credit card. When Jace took the check and the card, Kono reached out and touched Steve's arm.

"Steve," she said. "Let's do separate checks."

He shook his head, saying, "No, that's okay. You can pick up the next meal."

Jace returned at that moment and gave Steve the merchant copy of the receipt along with the customer copy and his card and handed him the pen. When Jace told him he could keep the pen as a souvenir, Steve thanked the waiter and signed the slip, handing everything back to the waiter before putting away his card.

Rising from the table, the Five 0 leader said, "Come on, let's go look at some shirts."

Steve headed to the gift shop, intending to get a shirt for himself and the governor. Kono saw him pulling out a more feminine looking top with a small logo for Bubba's sewn on it.

"Who's that for?" She wanted to know.

Steve was giving the shirt the critical eye as he said, "I thought that maybe the governor would like a shirt with a bit of whimsy."

Danny glanced at the rack he'd examined before. When Steve took the shirt off of the hangar, Danny said, "C'mon, Steven! When has her honor ever worn something casual with the symbol of a seafood chain on it?"

Draping the shirt on his arm, Steve argued, "She's a _mom_; she's got a _husband_, and she _likes the beach!_ What's the downside?"

Danny put his head in his hands, muttering, "I give up! I give up!"

Kono put her two cents in: "I think that's a good idea. She _is_ out and about, and not always for dress up functions." To Steve, she added, "Although I think you should get her another, more upscale gift, too."

Selecting another shirt, this one having a Forrest Gump logo on the back resembling a varsity team's symbol, Steve said, "As long as 'upscale' doesn't have the expensive price tag to go with it, count me in."

Getting out his card again, Steve waited for the forms and then signed them with the pen he'd just gotten.

XXXXXXXXXX

About five minutes later, Steve, Kono and Danny walked out of the gift shop, each cop carrying at least one bag with the Bubba's logo on it.

"Well, Steve, I guess I was wrong when I said they didn't have anything," Danny told his friends. "With the sale they had, now I got Grace and Rache something."

"What about Stanley?" Kono wanted to know.

"He's on his own," Danny replied. The cops walked further down the shopping mall as they saw the shops with the various names.

Stopping in front of a costume jewelry store, Kono saw some white pearl earrings nestled amongst the cheaper trinkets and accessories. "Hey, guys!" She shouted to the pair of males, who were a little ahead of her. When Steve and Danny stopped, she said to them, "I gotta check this out!"

They all went into the store and saw some remarkably real looking jewelry. Kono held up a necklace with the governor's birthstone, telling her teammates, "Guys! Do you think she'd like this?"

Danny looked at the necklace, saying, "Looks good, K." Steve also found a light blue clutch purse with costume pearls on it, set amongst some pretty flowers.

Holding it up, he asked Kono, "How about this? Is this more upscale?"

Kono's eyes lit with desire as she said, "Definitely! She'll love it!" Noticing Kono's reaction, Steve told the clerk, "I'll take two!_"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, as the trio walked out with their purchases, Steve put his credit card slip into one pocket and his newly acquired pen into the other. "Boy, is my card getting a workout today!" He said, his eyes twinkling good naturedly lest Kono and Danny think he had a problem with that.

"So's your hand," Danny teased, "With the exception of myself, I have never seen anyone do so much signing in one day." He and the others rounded a corner before Danny asked, "So, where to, next?"

"Maybe we should put all of these in the car except for the ones to be gift wrapped," Kono suggested, leading the way towards the main exit.

Steve and Danny tagged along but before long, they heard an announcement over the loudspeaker. "Would Steven J. MacGarrett please return to Bubba's right away? Mahalo. Would Steven J. MacGarrett return to Bubba's right away? Mahalo."

Steve said, "You two head back to the parking lot. I'll straighten this out and be with you in a flash."

As Steve dashed off, Danny hid a grin, thinking, _now the fun begins!_

XXXXXXXXXXX

Steve reached the restaurant, asking the head waiter, "Aloha. I'm Steven J. McGarrett. What's the trouble?"

The manager, a young, brunette haired woman with dark eyes and cropped hair, stepped forward and invited him to step into her office. The "office" was actually a locker room by the kitchen, where several chefs were rapidly calling out orders that had been completed.

Steve repeated his question. The manager held up his receipt which was unsigned. Steve saw the last four digits of his credit card number. Bewildered, he took the paper in his hand as he heard her low voice asking, "I assume this is yours? You forgot to sign it."

As Steve scratched his head in total confusion, the manager added, "I would have called you on your cell phone, but I didn't have your number." Steve apologized for the mistake, thinking to himself, _I __**know**__ I signed that!_

"I didn't want to cause a scene by airing out this dirty laundry in public so to speak so I asked you to come in here," she said.

"So, you caused another scene by paging me instead," Steve murmured. "Cute."

"Sorry about that, but as I said…" she told him, starting to repeat herself. Steve waived her off.

"It's okay," he responded. "How can I straighten things out?"

She said, "You can show me your card, and proof of identification, and then sign the receipt for our records."

Steve did as she asked. When she said, "Mahalo," Steve looked at her.

"Anything else?" He wondered. "You seem to look as though you have another question."

The manager nodded, telling him, "Well…there _is_ another mystery. My daughter's a cashier in the gift shop, and they have a similar issue. To save time, I got the receipt from her for you to sign."

_What the…? _The short haired Naval commander thought as he signed the second credit slip.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After he left a moment later, Steve was paged again to come to the costume jewelry and accessories shop.

When the clerk, an attractive Hawaiian girl, saw him, asking, "Are you St—"

"Yeah, I'm Steven J. McGarrett," Steve told her. The girl held up his unsigned slip, saying, "You didn't…".

"Sign that one?" Steve finished. When the girl nodded, Steve started doing so; then, he peered at the slip. "Excuse me for a moment."

Grabbing the merchant copy, Steve held it up to the light. "Son of a…" he muttered a moment later.

_DANNO! _Steve thought, asking for a second copy of the merchant's slip. Bewildered, the girl asked, "Why do you need that?"

Taking out the pen Jace had given him, Steve said, "Because I need to check something." He flashed his signature smile in her direction, and the girl smiled back, completely smitten.

"Well, okay," she said, giving him another copy of his transaction. Steve signed it with the pen; then, a second later, he saw what he wanted to see.

Asking the girl for a different pen, he signed the original merchant's copy and tore up the second one.

"Mahalo," he said to the girl. Not waiting for her reaction, the leader of Five 0 headed back toward Bubba's.

XXXXXXXXX

When the manager, who'd taken over the waitress station, saw Steve, she asked, "Mr. McGarrett, can I help you?"

Steve answered, "Yes, I think you can. I need to speak to the man who waited on my table. I think his name was Jace."

"Is anything wrong?" She asked.

"No, I just need to ask him something about the pen he gave me," Steve told her. "I was wondering where he got it."

"Oh," she said. "Sure, I'll get him." The manager left and then returned from the kitchen with a shorter, darker haired man.

"Aloha," he said, waving to Steve. The taller of the two noticed the catch in his voice. "May I help you?"

Steve asked him in a low voice, "I need to see you privately. Can we talk over here?"

Confident that Jace would handle Steve's question, the manager left to see to some other guests who had just walked in.

Meanwhile, Jace said. "Sure, I've got a few minutes." He walked with Steve to the locker room. "What's this all about?"

Steve whispered fiercely, "What this is all about is _fraud!_ You better tell me, buddy boy, what's going on with my signature?"

Jace opened his mouth to lie, but Steve told him, "One credit card slip and it's my fault. _Two_ slips from the same place that were unsigned makes me think _you've_ got something to do with this! My advice is that you tell me the truth, or—" he whipped out his badge, threatening, "-you spend a day in jail!"

Now, Jace started shaking his head back and forth, saying, "No, no! I'll cooperate, honest. I had nothing to do with anything! Please, I need this job! I'm up for an assistant manager position, and I don't wanna be fired!"

Spying a rickety old chair, Steve shoved the waiter into it. "Okay, talk," he commanded. "What happened?"

Jace outlined Danny's proposition, saying, "He made me do it. He even said your girlfriend was in on it! He gave me the pen with the invisible/reversible ink. The signatures should come back after a little while, he said! All I did was to pass it along to you! I only went along with it because…". Jace bowed his head in shame, finishing his thought.

"Because me and Dan, we go way back, and I owed him from something in high school, _I swear!" _Jace's last words were shouted. "Please don't tell my boss about this!"

Looking at Jace, Steve let him go, nodding with understanding and a touch of sympathy. "Okay, I won't tell her about the joke. But don't _ever _do it again."

Jace assured Steve that he'd never do such a thing again just as the manager came into the room, unaware of what had happened.

"Are you done, Mr. McGarrett? Jace has other customers," she said.

" Yeah," Steve said. "He was quite helpful." To Jace, he added, "Thanks for the info about the pen." Jace nodded, then he walked with the manager to help her with a large group of diners.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Steve walked back to parking lot after letting Kono know he was on his way. After a short while things had gotten out of hand. It was bad enough to involve himself, but saying something about _Kono _being in on the joke...Steve whispered to himself, "So, Danno, you want to play rough? Let's play rough!" He knew at least _one_ of the stores would provide a first rate idea for getting his revenge on his partner and prepared himself to make his best shot.


End file.
